Labor protections rise in New York's Uber, Lyft debate
Albany Times Union | Matthew Hamilton
Excerpt:
There also is an Independent Drivers Guild affiliated with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers that Uber recognized in 2016, making it the first such group of drivers to be recognized by the company. The guild has already scored a $1 raise on the minimum Uber fare rate, and is pressing for Uber to add a tipping option in 2017.
“Having that voice with the company is crucial,” said Independent Drivers Guild spokeswoman Moira Muntz.
She believes lawmakers should require Uber to commit to recognizing representation for upstate drivers. “It gives drivers the power to continually make those changes, and that is something that was hard-fought,” she said. ” … There are over 45,000, nearly 50,000, Uber drivers in the city, all of whom are represented by the guild that can help give upstate drivers more power and clout to make workplace policy changes if they are joining up with that big group on shared concerns.”
The complex debate over whether drivers deserve employment benefits afforded to workers in a number of other industries apparently has not been lost on state lawmakers, who are said to have debated this point as they consider legislation to allow ride-hailing to expand.
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